Fated
by Rickashay
Summary: AU A canceled business meeting causes Sesshomaru to wait at the park for his driver to pick him up, which is where he meets a young child with large, soulful eyes. Unable to stop the irresistible pull of fate, Sesshomaru has a new ward. Platonic! Rated K


Title: Unexpected

Authoress: Rickashay

Genre: General/Friendship/very slight Tragedy

Word Count: 1012

Universe: Modern: hint of canon

Rating: light T

Warning(s): mentions (sort of) character death, not graphic

Character(s): Sesshomaru, reincarnation Rin

Summary: A canceled business meeting causes Sesshomaru to have to wait at the park for his driver to pick him up, which is where he will meet a young child with large, soulful eyes. Unable to stop the unresistable pull of fate, Sesshomaru finds himself a new ward. Reincarnation!Rin/Sesshomaru, Platonic!

If it had been visible, steam would have been coming off of his head right about now.

The rain did nothing to brighten his mood, but only seemed to heighten the misery of his life. Water had soaked through his clothing, and his hair fell limply against his shoulders, worse yet, he was shivering. By nature, he disliked the water. Perhaps not as much as **cats**, but it wasn't particularly pleasant, especially when one was in a _mood_. The _now-_broken umbrella in hand did nothing to help with his snarky attitude, when in fact it had been given the blunt of his temper.

Most would have guessed that this temperamental man was in his late thirties, but…appearances _can_ be deceiving.

Eyes darkening in impatience, a long, drawn-out snarl shook his frame.

_Good, no one is around…_however, that made very little difference to the churlish man.

Sesshomaru's hands fiddled in his pockets until he produced a lighter and a cigarette, relief evident by the decreased wrinkles on his brow. By law, he was not allowed to smoke in public places, but as there was no one to witness it, how could he be caught? With a deep exhale, smoke rolled from his nostrils and he sighed in relief.

He cursed softly; eyes squeezing close and the tension once again appeared at the corners of his mouth. It had taken nearly **fourteen** _months_ to schedule the meeting and all because of this damnable weather, the client canceled! Now he was stuck waiting for the driver to come pick him up…while it was raining!

With a huff, he crossed his arms until a sudden movement shifted from the corner of his eye…

His teeth snapped shut abruptly, and his eyes briefly flickered to his side. A small girl, tiny in fact, stared up at him, brown eyes wide and curious. Incredibly, he snorted in disbelief.

_How in the world did she sneak up on me? _He thought with an inward shake of the head. Instead, outwardly, an eyebrow arched challengingly.

She cocked her head to the side, lips pursed thoughtfully even though raindrops ran silently down her face, even when they dropped off her chin. Her fringe was plastered to her forehead and the overly-large jeans she was wearing had to be nearly **six** _inches _deep in mud, and yet she seemed unperturbed by her filthiness…or the rain.

"What do you want, girl?" he scooted over, closer to his side. With a sneer at the disheveled ponytail hanging at the back of her head, the soppy wet clothes, and the faint, dubious look in her eyes, Sesshomaru's narrowed suspiciously; little did he know, he didn't exactly look any better.

The girl's eyebrows rose, lips tightening into a weak attempt at a smile despite her chapped lips.

Turning his chin away from her, although keeping one eye trained on her, smoke puffed from his lips. His mouth twitched either in irritation or a half-hearted attempt at a smile: most likely the first.

_I'll just ignore her….she'll go away eventually…and her parents will call for her soon…_An eye creaked open, and the girl was still staring at him with a loopy, disoriented look. For a brief moment, the briefest mined you! Sesshomaru felt that prickle of sympathy…and of annoyance at his weakness.

Large dark eyes stared up at him, the touching, lost expression nearly recognizable. A raindrop rolled silently down her cheek but her eyes lingered, staring impassively into his, almost unsure but not quite willing it to creep into her eyes.

With a sharp intake of breath, he pushed those thoughts from his head… Scowling slightly at himself, he'd hardly notice the sound of wet clothes squeaking against the bench as the girl shifted to look up at him from underneath her damp bangs. Large, dewy eyes blinked curiously up at him.

"What is it?" he said, although not in his meanest tones, giving a brief look-around of the area.

The park was silent and there appeared to be no one around…much less the child's parents. There was a brief tug and his skin prickled with self-awareness. The child's hand reached toward him, curling onto the cuff of his sleeve before giving a brief pull. His eyes narrowed in distrust, and he released the hold on his suit pants that he was unconsciously wrinkling. Her other hand came forward, fisted before slowly, almost nervously, it opened before him.

_A yellow flower…? What use is that to me?_

A thought bloomed in the back of his mind, and unconsciously, his palm opened. Surprised when he felt the weed drop into the middle of his hand, the flower felt light and feather-like in his open palm, he couldn't help but smile just _slightly_ at the oddity of this situation, and the familiarity.

Glancing from the corner of his eye, he noted that she had sucked in her bottom lip, chewing earnestly, almost worriedly, at the peeling skin there. Attempting to clear the awkwardness in his throat, he was surprised when his voice came out in a croaked, "thank you."

She gave a rather timid nod, bashfully avoiding eye-contact with him. With a jerky movement that surprised even him, she slid off the bench. The _squashing _noise of wet clothes hitting the floor followed her as she left.

"Why did you give me this?" he asked, barely believing if she even heard him.

Her head tilted in his direction, translucent eyes widening in surprise. "You looked like you needed cheering up." She grinned back, waving slightly.

Sesshomaru could only stare incredulously at her back as she walked away. A tire creaked in the distance, and his head snapped in the direction of the vehicle…

His ride was there…

With a sharp intake of breath, gripping his broken umbrella in one hand and the other curled into his pocket, tucking away the dandelion. He _hardly_ noticed the brown eyes, squinting through the rain, following him as he left…

But he did notice…

_I'll be back…just for curiosity's sake._

He thought to himself with a doubtful smile, although not quite untruthful.

A/N This thought immediately bloomed in my head when I saw the prompt, and I couldn't resist writing it. I've been reading lots of _Harry Potter_ fanfiction, and I can't believe I felt encouraged to write a non-romance story with Sesshomaru and Rin! Anyway, I truly hope you enjoyed it and thank you so, so much for reading! I hope you've liked it as much as it was a pleasure to write. If you see any mistakes, please make me aware of them. Constructive criticism is welcomed! ^_^

Just to warn you, this is a new story. (I know, I suck, don't I?) I hope to write the next chapter soon, and just to warn you, chances are I am going to get ahead of myself and write this story complete and probably will wait to edit the chapters. That saying, this was inspired by a spur of a moment thing. It is...mind you, not a romance story. (AMAZINGLY, I assure you.) Instead, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! (New warning(s) may or may not be added as I write)


End file.
